Bernardine Monastery in Dukla

Medals available from the vending machine near the baptismal font!

The Sanctuary of St John of Dukla is a place where pilgrims come to ask for necessary graces for themselves and their loved ones through the intercession of the Patron Saint of Poland, and then make another pilgrimage to give thanks for the many miracles that have been performed through the intercession of our Patron Saint.

How did the foundation of the Bernardine monastery and church in Dukla come about? After the beatification of John of Dukla in 1733, the idea arose in the Bernardine circles to make Dukla the second centre of cult of the Blessed, after Lviv. Thus a project was conceived to establish a new monastery in the town. Therefore, in 1739, Ignacy Orłowski, the provincial, went to Jaworów, on the authority of Jan Kapistran Wdziekoński, the minister of the Bernardine Ruthenian province, to visit his friend, Grand Marshal of the Crown, the owner of Dukla, Józef Wandalin Mniszek (died 1747). He presented him with plans for the Bernardines and asked him to undertake the foundation of a monastery in Dukla. Unfortunately, the monk did not accept the duties of founder, due to the financial outlay already made for the reconstruction of the burnt Dukla parish church. Nevertheless, he promised the monks to donate a plot of land for the planned buildings and a garden. In this situation, the Bernardines sought the help of other benefactors to realise the foundation. These included the Sanocki Ensign Józef Bukowski and the Łomża Ensign Kazimierz Łętowski.